| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 61.63 |
| Liaison | Leslie North |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Western Kentucky University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.25 / 3.00 |
Madeline
Petty Graduate Assistant Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences |
Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution?:
| Yes or No | |
| Students | Yes |
| Academic staff | Yes |
| Non-academic staff | Yes |
A brief description of the institution’s formal participatory or shared governance bodies:
WKU has a Student Government Association, as well as a Faculty and Staff Senate body. The Faculty Senate functions as the official representative voice of the faculty, advising and making recommendations to the President and Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs concerning academic requirements and policies, faculty responsibilities and welfare, and any other matters of importance to the faculty.
WKU's SGA statement is: "We, the students of Western Kentucky University, in order to form a legitimate body of students to address student needs, interests, and opinions toward all aspects of university life, promote student well-being and involvement, encourage diversity and tolerance among all groups and individuals, and to create proper channels through which student opinions, recommendations, and requests may be expressed to university administrators, do hereby ordain and establish this Constitution of the Student Government Association of Western Kentucky University."
An elected Staff Council (Staff Senate) conducts regular meetings to assess and address staff needs and issues. Members of the Staff Council sit on other committees or advisory boards to ensure staff representation, including the WKU Board of Regents (Staff Regent). All Staff Council members are elected by WKU faculty and staff, including the member that serves as the Staff Regent. "As a representative body of all staff members at Western Kentucky University, the Staff Council does hereby pledge to determine responsibly and to administer faithfully the policies and objectives which best fulfill the needs, concerns and interests of the staff at Western Kentucky University. Furthermore, we shall strive to enhance the productivity and employment experience of every Western Kentucky University staff member and to exert to the utmost our efforts to help the University achieve its educational goals."
Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:
Does the institution host or support one or more formal bodies through which external stakeholders have a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them?:
A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
WKU Board of Regents: http://www.wku.edu/regents/
WKU Senate: https://www.wku.edu/senate/index.php
WKU Staff Council: http://www.wku.edu/staffcouncil/
WKU Student Government: http://www.wku.edu/sga/
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.